Wyśmierzyce
Wyśmierzyce is a town in Białobrzegi County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, with 884 inhabitants. Until 2017 it was the smallest town in Poland.
It lies along National Road Nr. 48, on the right, southern bank of the Pilica River. Historically Wyśmierzyce belongs to the province of Lesser Poland, and is located on the border with Mazovia. From its foundation until 1795, the town belonged to Lesser Poland’s Sandomierz Voivodeship. The area of the town is approximately 16,84 km2.History
Until the late 17th century, the name of the town was spelled Wyszemierzyce. The name comes from a male given name Wyszemir. Wyśmierzyce was granted Magdeburg rights on December 12, 1338, and like many other locations in northern Lesser Poland, was stripped of them after January Uprising, by the government of Tsarist-controlled Congress Poland. In 1378, first Roman Catholic parish was opened here, and in 1657, the town was completely destroyed by the army of Transilvanian prince George II Rakoczi during the Swedish Invasion of Poland. After the Partitions of Poland, Wyśmierzyce at first belonged to Austria’s West Galicia, and in 1815 it became part of Tsarist-controlled Congress Poland, from 1844 on as part of Radom Governorate. The village regained its town charter in 1922, when it belonged to Second Polish Republic’s Kielce Voivodeship.
Between 1973 and 2017 Wyśmierzyce was the smallest town in Poland. It ceased to be the smallest town when Wiślica, with a population of 503, regained its city rights on 1 January 2018.
